I think Amych is dead-on. Although you can't hold higher elected office in this country without visibly and loudly being one, a certain brand of Christianity is dedicated to the premise that they are an oppressed minority.
We're proud to say that the Class of '99 has the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale history.
Jonathan ,'Touched'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Hayden - May 13, 2008 8:50:26 am PDT #5782 of 28354
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
Steph L. - May 13, 2008 9:09:54 am PDT #5783 of 28354
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
The whole "closet Christian" thing doesn't exist in any known universe
I think the premise of those books -- teens at a snooty, exclusive private school in San Francisco -- is that, while there doesn't seem to be any shame in being *culturally* Christian (C&E, and maybe even church on Sundays), in that particular snooty-ass, disaffected, promiscuous teen culture, it's uber-UNcool to be all "I LOVE Jesus!!!!" And BEYOND uber-uncool to not have sex with your hot-ass BF because God wants you to save it for your wedding night.
So in that scenario, I'm imagining a Jesus Camp-type fundie Christian trying to be part of the popular crowd at this snooty private school, but being afraid of being outed as a great big square.
Does that make sense?
Nutty - May 13, 2008 9:37:38 am PDT #5784 of 28354
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
Does that make sense?
I think it would make more sense except that the whole point of a "snooty" social scene is that almost everybody is ostracized for one reason or another. Now, if Missy Christian is trying to fit in with the losers and the nerds and feels like she would lose social status for her beliefs, that... would be kind of funny, and possibly a 1980s brat pack movie.
Jessica - May 13, 2008 9:39:33 am PDT #5785 of 28354
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
a snooty, exclusive private school in San Francisco
Oh, San Francisco. Well of course it's not cool to love Jesus in that hotbed of sin!
DavidS - May 13, 2008 9:41:19 am PDT #5786 of 28354
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Well of course it's not cool to love Jesus in that hotbed of sin!
It's true. I oppress JZ all the time about this.
Scrappy - May 13, 2008 12:11:16 pm PDT #5787 of 28354
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
I oppress JZ all the time
Is that what the kids are calling it these days?
Susan W. - May 13, 2008 3:21:28 pm PDT #5788 of 28354
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
I think amych and Teppy are right about this particular set of books. But since I am a Buffista and I have a datapoint to share...
Those of you who didn't grow up in tiny little towns in the buckle of the Bible Belt would be AMAZED how many virginities are lost on choir trips and youth retreats. And I still can't quite get over the fact that one of my most promiscuous classmates has metamorphosized into a fundamentalist Southern Baptist preacher-man.
Gris - May 13, 2008 4:17:45 pm PDT #5789 of 28354
Hey. New board.
Those of you who didn't grow up in tiny little towns in the buckle of the Bible Belt would be AMAZED how many virginities are lost on choir trips and youth retreats.
Yay church youth functions! I miss choir trips and youth retreats.
(Disclaimer: I did not lose my virginity on a choir trip or youth retreat. I just kissed a lot more people on them than in the rest of my high school experience combined.)
Polter-Cow - May 14, 2008 11:08:29 am PDT #5790 of 28354
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Cleolinda reviews Twilight.
Gris - May 14, 2008 3:30:05 pm PDT #5791 of 28354
Hey. New board.
Question about that review: she uses the word "totes" instead of "totally." Has that really entered the normal popular vernacular? Because I associate it, exclusively, with a small segment of the teen-to-twenties musical theater community that regularly watches/reads Andrew Keenan-Bolger's Blog. This is the first time I've ever seen/read/heard it outside of that context, and I need other data-points.
ETA: Well, apparently Urban Dictionary has an entry for it from way back in 2003. So I guess it's been around. Weird.
In unrelated but more on-topic news: I've discovered that I can re-read one of Piers Anthony's Xanth novels in a day flat. I've made it through the first 9 in the last week and a half. And it's AWESOME. He comes across as a bit of a prick in the Author's Notes, though.